Tonny Trocha passes TOEFL, will be admitted to A&M

Welcome to 2014. The best players in the country is a freshmen every year. Unless one of them decides to stay for a final sophomore year. Our guys aren't THAT caliber, but modest expectations aren't unrealistic.

You're making a really bid deal of the 2 years off thing. He's a young man, not 40 year old Nazr Mohammed. Teenagers can get in shape and in the flow very quickly. Just look at Joel Embiid's improvement from the start of the year to the end.

2015, Hickory High said he has played with him at the rec and opined he would have been the best player on our team last season. That is why it is very hard to get through the mystery of Trocha. So many conflicting rumors! At least we will finally get to see him this fall finally on a D1 court with other D1 players to actually see with our own eyes what we got here.

[This message has been edited by Pumpkinhead (edited 4/10/2014 11:08a).]

Re-posting his highlights from Adidas Nations, all one minute's worth :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-MM-2rCQTg

That's interesting, I actually know Hickory so I'm gonna ask him and see what he says. I see Tonny up there once or twice a week (I play almost every day) and I know I'm not a scout by any means but he just seems like a big body who can block shots and grab boards. But like I said... It's just the Rec and he could very well be barely trying.

Bryan Davis and Deandre Jordan both highly recruited kids struggled mighty as freshmen. I'd suggest Davis had way more of an offensive game as a freshmen and couldn't get to a 2 point average as a freshmen.

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It's just the Rec and he could very well be barely trying.

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Maybe he put out "safe" effort in caution to not injure himself and just keep the feel of the game for himself and the future. Maybe it was suggested ... ???

Agfan- Like I said... It's just the Rec. You're probably right.

Basketball players don't typically give it their all at the Rec. Not very much upside, but the downside is that they could potentially kiss their career goodbye with an injury.

Congrats to Tony!

Deandre averaged 8/6 on 20 minutes a game. I don't expect Trocha to match that, but he might. Too few basketball fans appreciate how much a big man who can black shots, rebound, and get put-backs can affect a game.

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Bryan Davis and Deandre Jordan both highly recruited kids struggled mighty as freshmen. I'd suggest Davis had way more of an offensive game as a freshmen and couldn't get to a 2 point average as a freshmen.

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Dre didn't "struggle mightily" as a fish. He came into a loaded frontcourt (Jones, Davis, and Junior, what an embarassment of riches compared to recent squads) and put up good per minute averages in points, boards, and blocks. Look at his numbers (sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine much like those who dismissed Middleton was).

I don't expect Trocha to do nearly as well as Dre, but it's not going to take much to impact our frontcourt. Someone said he's "just" a big body who can block shots and grab boards. That's exactly what this team needs! Sure, it'd be nice if he was legit low post scorer or inside/outside threat but just having someone who can play interior D and grab boards for 15-20 minutes a game would fill a big hole on this team.

[This message has been edited by DTP02 (edited 4/10/2014 11:44a).]

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I'd suggest Davis had way more of an offensive game as a freshmen and couldn't get to a 2 point average as a freshmen.

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Again, based on what exactly, your ability to watch highlight videos? BD played beind JJ, AK, and even marlon for crying out loud. Phenomenal comparison! Tell me, is marquette still waiting on their invitation to the NIT?

Congrats to trocha!

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marlon

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That dude was a REALLY good defender and was criminally under appreciated.

So does he have four years left to play?

^yes, he has 4 years of eligibility.

fantastic for Trocha!


but LOL at dat CBS quote

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The Aggies were a point guard and big man away from being an NCAA Tournament team this season

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Did Kennedy tweat, "SI SENOR!"?

I've played rec ball against Tony. Even though it may not be the greatest competition, he still looks very athletic and blocks a crazy amount of shots. Nice kid on top of that too. I think he'll do just fine next season. (granted he works very hard in the off-season)

glad trocha finally got in. Hope he can make a positive difference

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opined he would have been the best player on our team last season

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I thought Shawn was supposed to be the best player on the team last season based upon what people said last summer....I have a hard time keeping up apparently.

I'm glad for Tony. that was a long road. He probably speaks English better than profs in some depts j/k


From the Zapruder-like films I've seen and scouting, Tony is a 3* (Scout - which I favor for b'ball) to 4* center. He's thin with a good defensive skillset. Projected to be a bit of a project on offense, he should provide a few blocks and rebounds, important in the SEC. We'll see how he develops. Should be a good backup behind Roberson.

Roberson coming back is absolutely key for any success in conference.

I'd really like to see BK place Robinson and Caruso together as combo guards. Caruso has trouble hitting from the outside and can play a good Jon Scheyer-like PG/combo guard role. Being used as a combo guard take pressure off Robinson in running the team as a Frosh.

Robinson can dribble drive or shoot the jumper. I'd play him off Caruso and swing Caruso, Jamal Jones, and Jalen Jones through the high post.

Robinson
Caruso
Jamal Jones
Jalen Jones
Roberson

Should be the starting 5 with

Fitzgerald (hope the knee graft takes)
Trocha
Green
Space
Miller

off the bench

The strength of the club still resides with Caruso and our long wings/stretch 4s: Jamal, Jalen, Fitzgerald, and Space.

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opined he would have been the best player on our team last season

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I thought Shawn was supposed to be the best player on the team last season based upon what people said last summer....I have a hard time keeping up apparently.

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I think it was only a couple guys who completely buy the rosy optimism from one of our assistants who believed that. Smith is a plus athlete, but had significant skill development to do, and the "knucklehead factor" was high from the get-go with him, so there was always a big concern that non-basketball stuff would derail things.

congrats to Tonny Trocha. Basketball skills aside, it's great to see a kid bust his ass to make the most of his opportunities in life.

Lots of highly-regarded recruits don't pan out to be future NBA'ers all over the country every year, that shouldn't diminish his efforts to get into school... and his efforts and abilities shouldn't be derided because we all want a different basketball coach.

Tango

Congrats to Tonny, he persevered and got the crown!

Now here are few things that are obsevable at TT.

1. He is 6'10" legit.

That in itself is not real common.

2. He is a good athlete moves very well and has knack to know how to time his jump to block shots. He can do something that none of our bigs can do now. JUMP and be a threat to block a shot on the interior he can change shots. Right now any team can attack the rim with zero fear of getting a shot rejected. Trocha changes that the moment he walks on the court.

Let's see how many 'BOS's he causes! ('Blocked Own Shot', this is caused by the presence of a big that can block a shot and their mere presence can cause one inside to shoot the ball a little quick or change his shot, --or even pass up shot inside because they are afraid it is going to get blocked-- and thus cause a miss, I call that a BOS, it's a major stat I kept on both sides of the ball. If you had a BOS on offense, you did updowns for a minute for every one you had! No updowns for shot actually blocked. It's a stat that does not show up in a box score but man it is an important one! We had a ton of BOS's on the offense side of the ball this year, cost us games! )

If Trocha's presence causes 4 BOS's a game that is like 8 pts on the plus column but there are no 'official stats for BOS caused!)

3. He can stretch the floor, He has a nice release on his shot and he has good feet. As he develops he could be a very good to great offensive player, the natural skill are there, they will need to be developed. (NOT SAYING HE WILL BUT the raw materials are there.

4. He was recruited by UK, I am sorry UK does not go out and attempt to recruit no talent stiffs. The natural abilities are there that is why Cal seriously looked at him. Once the admin issues came up he backed off, it had nothing to do with the talent.

5. The two year lay off is AN ADVANTAGE. Why?

A. He has two years to continue to grow physically. Bigs need time to grow and fill out. He has put on about 20 pounds since he was originally recruited.

B. He is not your normal fish coming in. He has been here the last two or so years, he has been to about every home game. He has seen SEC basketball up close and personal, He knows the coaches, especially Keller, there will be no school or living adjustment for him. It will be seamless transition into the program.

6. He is loyal to A&M and he is a kid who can persevere and has demonstrated a level of maturity that is far beyond most fish. He has proven both of these, even with all the swirl from the MOB against BK, he has stayed faithful to A&m. I am sure he could get other good offers, he does not have to re-sign with A&M. He did not give up or get angry or go away even after he was cleared by the NCAA but denied by the A&M Tofel requirements.

Simply put, A&M is where he want to be and he is intimately acquainted with the players and the program.

7. He will now have full access in early summer, to the all the A&M facilities. The off season program, weight room, nutrition center and even the coaches. He now knows he is here and part of the team. I have no doubt that he will be motivated to work hard and make an impact. If he comes in at 235 next year while maturing and improving his athleticism he may not have such a huge learning curve and may have a bigger impact then most fish.

Any way you look at it he is not your normal newbie fish. He is older and he is familiar with the program, the coaches and his teammates.

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5. The two year lay off is AN ADVANTAGE. Why?

A. He has two years to continue to grow physically. Bigs need time to grow and fill out. He has put on about 20 pounds since he was originally recruited.

B. He is not your normal fish coming in. He has been here the last two or so years, he has been to about every home game. He has seen SEC basketball up close and personal, He knows the coaches, especially Keller, there will be no school or living adjustment for him. It will be seamless transition into the program.

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Please don't tell me you actually believe this.

There is simply no way that taking two years off from competitive basketball is an advantage.

Your first argument is that it gives him a chance to mature physically. While he can lift and develop endurance, he is not getting the daily exposure to the speed of division one basketball that every other player has. In and of itself, this is is a MAJOR disadvantage. My expectation is that coming in, he's going to look lost a lot of the time because things just move too quickly for him. That's not his fault - it's just hard to adjust after a two year hiatus from competitive basketball.

Second, you say that he is familiar with the coaches. While that is partially true, he hasn't been allowed to participate in practice, and so hasn't had access to whatever coaching the rest of the team has received. While he can run through the system out of practice, there isn't any substitute for the grind, which he simply hasn't had yet.

There is simply no one to flower a two year absence as a good thing. It's just not.

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5. The two year lay off is AN ADVANTAGE. Why?

A. He has two years to continue to grow physically. Bigs need time to grow and fill out. He has put on about 20 pounds since he was originally recruited.

B. He is not your normal fish coming in. He has been here the last two or so years, he has been to about every home game. He has seen SEC basketball up close and personal, He knows the coaches, especially Keller, there will be no school or living adjustment for him. It will be seamless transition into the program.

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Playing recball for 2 years while all of his peers have been playing D-1 bball is an advantage. I've figured it out! You're Melvin Watkins, which is why you want Kennedy to stay: so that A&M fans will suffer. That's probably also why you seem to have some genuine admiration for Kennedy and his coaching ability

People actually read OPAG's drivel?

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People actually read OPAG's drivel?

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wouldn't know if it's drivel or not. Won't read.

The sense is that Trocha's more immediate impact will be on the defensive end. He can cover ground quickly and has great length, and likes to rebound and block shots. Everything I've read on him from different sources says he is a pretty instinctive and natural shot blocker.

Offensively, I'm not sure what to expect in terms of his overall game, but a reasonable and very realistic assumption is to not look for much there. He DOES apparently have some outside game, and can pick-and-pop out for some mid-range shots, a different sort of player potential than Johns, but if I'll be very surprised if he turns out to be any kind of significant scorer for us next season.

I'm sure he's a natural shot blocker, but I'm concerned that he's going to be a fouling machine, just because he's not used to the speed after having been out for two years. A half step out of position will lead to a foul more often than not on the block.

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Everything I've read on him from different sources says he is a pretty instinctive and natural shot blocker.

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Seriously dude, in the context of a guy who's unfamiliar with his defensive system and behind the eight ball on development because he hasn't participated in an organized basketball program in 2 years, "natural shot blocker" is a synonym for foul machine.

SEC- at home he will block two shots a game. On the road he will play 16 mpg because of fouls.

I saw this and did not think it was real the first time. Two years without playing against high level competition is never an advantage. NEVER.

Otherwise, all Harvard and MIT Frosh would take the year off, and re-study the pre-calculus text they covered in 11th grade.



"5. The two year lay off is AN ADVANTAGE. Why?

A. He has two years to continue to grow physically. Bigs need time to grow and fill out. He has put on about 20 pounds since he was originally recruited."

[This message has been edited by jml2621 (edited 4/23/2014 9:23p).]